"You shall know this day and take to your heart that Hashem, He is God – in heaven above and on earth below – there is none other." Devarim 4:39.
One can know something intellectually, but the knowledge doesn't necessarily become rooted in his heart. Why not?
Once a professional archer challenged his friend to a contest to see who could shoot an arrow closest to the center of a target. The friend, who was very clever, accepted the challenge although they both knew that he was unskilled in archery.
The professional archer stood very far from the target, drew his bow back and let the arrow fly. It landed only a half an inch from a perfect bull's-eye!
The challenge was intimidating. The clever friend knew he didn’t have the same training as the archer, but his mind was clearly set on hitting the target dead-center. Ignoring all protests, he walked right up to the target, aimed his bow, and shot a perfect bull's-eye. He succeeded beyond the expectations of all the naysayers because he focused on the goal.
The nimshol is:
Many times, we have the right goal but we focus mainly on our part in reaching it. Nothing can be farther from the truth! Our success does not depend on how talented we are nor can it be stymied by others who say “it can’t be done done”.
The Lekach Tov explains the belief “there is none other” is called emunah shleima. From this week’s Torah reading, we learn that the Torah commands us to make a daily spiritual accounting to reach this level. That is why it says, “You shall know this day...” At this level we become aware that there is no such thing as cause and result. The purpose of prayer and avodah is only to strengthen our realization that Hashem runs the world! Yeshuat Hashem k'heref Ayin: The salvation of G‑d comes in the blink of an eye!
If we meditate on the reality of ain od milvado we will come to understand that the purpose of life is this very realization! Stay close to the target and you can’t miss!
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Good Shabbos,R’ Channenjudaism613.org